Gonstead Family Chiropractic- Blog

We are going to address some large concerns, what is the opioid crisis, how did it start, what can be done, and is it really that big of an issue. The opioid crisis is so impactful right now that it is literally killing over 115 people daily in our great country, which accounts for over 40,000 deaths a year from overdose of opioids. From July 2016 to September 2017 the Midwest saw opioid overdose grow over 70%. Not only is this an extremely deadly ordeal, it is also creating a massive economic burden of over $78.5 Billion a year due to cost of healthcare, addiction treatment, lost productivity, as well as criminal justice involvement. This is not even to mention the strains it forms on family, friends, and loved ones. This all can be dated back to the 90s when pharmaceutical companies made a strong push for pain killers to be prescribed. The opioid pain killers lead to heroin, and fentanyl use. Approximately 25% of people prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse the drugs, with 80% of people whom use heroin misused the prescription opioids first. So what can be done for this incredible crisis?! Well first we need to say what it is, chronic pain patients are being prescribed pain killers. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking non-addictive strategies to manage chronic pain. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notes chiropractic as one of the leading avenues for this non-addictive strategies to manage chronic pain. West Virginia recently implemented mandatory 20 visits to a chiropractor or acupuncturist BEFORE even considering being prescribed opioids by a medical practitioner. If you yourself or someone you know are suffering from chronic pain we are here to help you! We are one of the leading chiropractors in San Diego. We see patients from all over San Diego County (ie, La Mesa, Otay, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, and Santee) as well as far as LA County and El Centro. Again, this is something we have the ability to not only slow down, help out with, but this is something that we can PREVENT!! This is something that I personally take interest in as within the past year I have lost old friends from the midwest to this crisis. Do not let yourself, your friends, your family, your loved ones become another statistic, the time is now for us to stand against this deadly crisis, sweeping its way across our amazing country.​